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1 882.]  Zoology,  907 


CN1VEBSIT* 


(From  the  American  Naturalist,  November,  1882.) 
ZOOLOGY. 

THE  BITE  OF  THE  GILA  MONSTER  (HELODERMA  SUSPECTUM). — 
Within  the  last  week  the  Smithsonian  Institution  has  received 
from  Acting  Assistant  Surgeon  A.  T.  Burr,  U.S.A.,  now  serving 
in  Arizona,  a  very  fine  living  specimen  of  this  lizard.  I  under- 
stand that  Dr.  Burr  has  had  this  reptile  in  his  care  for  nearly  six 
months,  and  it  arrived  here  in  an  excellent  state  of  health. 

Heloderma  snspectum  Cope  is  the  largest  of  our  North  American 
lizards,  and  is  found  all  through  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Lower 
California,  and  the  country  to  the  southward.  I  have  never  had 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  this  reptile  in  its  native  haunts,  but  have 
been  told  by  those  who  have  been  so  fortunate,  that  it  is  a  won- 
derfully striking  object  to  behold,  as  well  we  might  imagine  it  to 
be,  with  its  shining  and  flinty  armor  of  jet-black  and  brilliant 
orange,  irregularly  arranged  over  its  body,  darting  as  it  does 
among  the  rocks  of  that  arid  land. 

The  superstitious  Indians,  and  still  more  superstitious  Mexicans 
that  reside  in  the  country  where  the  Heloderma  is  found,  have  al- 
ways regarded  it  with  dread  and  fear,  attributing  to  its  bite  the 
direst  venom.  Enlightened  folk  have  entertained  in  their  minds 
doubts  upon  this  subject,  indeed  I  have  seen  specimens  forwarded 
to  the  Smithsonian,  by  collectors  from  the  above  localities,  com- 
pletely perforated  by  a  large  carbine  ball,  so  careful  have  they 
been  not  to  handle  this  creature  alive.  In  view  of  these  facts 
then,  and  this  interesting  part  of  its  natural  history,  well  authen- 
ticated cases  of  bites  of  this  lizard  possess  sufficient  value  for 
scientific  record. 

Dr.  Burr's  specimen  is  not  the  first  representative  of  Heloderma 
that  we  have  received  from  our  vast  Southwest,  for  from  time  to 
time  quite  a  number  of  these  lizards  have  been  sent  to  us  alive, 
and  they  thrive  quite  well  for  a  long  time,  feeding  on  eggs  served 
to  them  either  raw  or  hard  boiled. 

In  removing  them  from  cage  to  cage,  or  handling  them  for 
other  purposes,  the  utmost  care  has  usually  been  exercised,  due 
to  their  doubtful  reputation  and  not  over  gentle  appearance.  Mr. 
Henry  Horan,  the  superintendent  of  the  National  Museum,  re- 
ceived on  several  occasions  slight  bites  from  these  specimens,  but 
the  wounds  were  never  followed  by  any  untoward  symptoms. 


908  General  Notes.  [November, 

On  the  1 8th  inst,  in  the  company  of  Professor  Gill  of  the 
institution,  I  examined  for  the  first  time  Dr.  Burr's  specimen, 
then  in  a  cage  in  the  herpetological  room.  It  was  in  capital 
health,  and  at  first  I  handled  it  with  great  care,  holding  it  in  rny 
left  hand  examining  special  parts  with  my  right.  At  the  close  of 
this  examination  I  was  about  to  return  the  fellow  to  his  tempo- 
rary quarters,  when  my  left  hand  slipped  slightly,  and  the  now 
highly  indignant  and  irritated  Heloderma  made  a  dart  forward 
and  seized  my  right  thumb  in  his  mouth,  inflicting  a  severe  lacer- 
ated wound,  sinking  the  teeth  in  his  upper  maxilla  to  the  very 
bone.  He  loosed  his  hold  immediately  and  I  replaced  him  in  his 
cage,  with  far  greater  haste,  perhaps,  than  I  removed  him  from  it. 

By  suction  with  my  mouth,  I  drew  not  a  little  blood  from  the 
wound,  but  the  bleeding  soon  ceased  entirely,  to  be  followed  in  a 
few  moments  by  very  severe  shooting  pains  up  my  arm  and  down 
the  corresponding  side.  The  severrty  of  these  pains  was  so  un- 
expected that  added  to  the  nervous  shock  already  experienced, 
no  doubt,  and  a  rapid  swelling  of  the  parts  that  now  set  in,  caused 
me  to  become  so  faint  as  to  fall,  and  Dr.  Gill's  study  was  reached 
with  no  little  difficulty.  The  action  of  the  skin  was  greatly  in- 
creased and  the  perspiration  flowed  profusely.  A  small  quantity 
of  whisky  was  administered.  This  is  about  a  fair  statement  of  the 
immediate  symptoms ;  the  same  night  the  pain  allowed  of  no 
rest,  although  the  hand  was  kept  in  ice  and  laudanum,  but  the 
swelling  was  confined  to  this  member  alone,  not  passing  beyond 
the  wrist.  Next  morning  this  was  considerably  reduced,  and  fur- 
ther reduction  was  assisted  by  the  use  of  a  lead  water  wash. 

In  a  few  days  the  wound  healed  kindly,  and  in  all  probability 
will  leave  no  scar;  all  other  symptoms  subsided  without  treat- 
ment, beyond  the  wearing  for  about  forty-eight  hours,  so  much 
of  a  kid  glove  as  covered  the  parts  involved. 

After  the  bite  our  specimen  was  dull  and  sluggish,  simulating 
the  torpidity  of  the  venomous  serpent  after  it  has  inflicted  its 
deadly  wound,  but  it  soon  resumed  its  usual  action  and  appear- 
ance, crawling  in  rather  an  awkward  manner  about  its  cage. 

Taking  everything  into  consideration,  we  must  believe  the  bite 
of  Heloderma  suspectum  to  be  a  harmless  one  beyond  the  ordi- 
nory  symptoms  that  usually  follow  the  bite  of  any  irritated  ani- 
mal. I  have  seen,  as  perhaps  all  surgeons  have,  the  most  serious 
consequences  follow  the  bite  inflicted  by  an  angry  man,  and  sev- 
eral year;  ago  the  writer  had  his  hand  confined  in  a  sling  for 
many  weeks  from  such  a  wound  administered  by  the  teeth  of  a 
common  cat,  the  even  tenor  of  whose  life  had  been  suddenly  inter- 
rupted.—/?. W.  Shiifeldt,  M.D.,  U.S.A.,  22d  September,  1882. 


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